Rove: Palin Needs a 'Slightly Thicker Skin'

Former top presidential adviser Karl Rove said Wednesday he cannot understand why Sarah Palin got upset when he suggested she appears like someone who is gearing up for a presidential run and the former Alaska governor might need to develop “a slightly thicker skin.”

“Look, the head of grass-roots organization on her behalf in Iowa said roughly the same thing I did, which is not knowing any inside information, it looks to us like — both this fellow in Iowa and to me — that she’s more likely to be a candidate,” Rove told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “The things that she’s doing in Iowa — showing up at the Iowa State Fair, running this ad, saying: I’m looking forward to being back there on September 3rd, attending a big rally on September 3rd — all signal to me that she’s more likely to be a candidate at some point.

“I’ve never said she’s going to declare on the 3rd, but I’ve said this schedule looks more like the schedule of somebody who wants to be a candidate than somebody who’s just a celebrity,” Rove said. “I’m mystified. Look, she is all upset about this, saying I’m somehow trying to sabotage her — sabotage her in some way — and that how dare I speculate on her future. Look, if she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential presidential candidate, there’s an easy way to end the speculation: Simply say, I’m not running.”

Rove said it is a sign that Palin has “enormous thin skin” if she gets upset when people speculate about her possible candidacy.

“If she doesn’t want to be speculated about, then end the speculation by saying: ‘I’m not going to be a candidate.’ Until then, I would just recommend she might get a slightly thicker skin,” Rove said. “Because if she’s got this thin a skin now — when people are saying: Well, I think she might be a candidate . . . how’s she going to react if she does get into the campaign and gets the scrutiny that every presidential candidate does get?

“I mean, that’s not going to be a pretty sight if she’s as thin-skinned in the fray as she is on the edges of it.”